Mark Cuban: What Tyson Chandler brings to the Mavericks and how to approach Nowitzki's extension

1/1

Vernon Bryant/Staff Photographer

Dallas Mavericks center Tyson Chandler (6) and owner Mark Cuban react during the fourth quarter of play in Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder at American Airlines Center in Dallas on May 19, 2011. (Vernon Bryant/The Dallas Morning News)

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban joined KRLD-FM 105.3 on Monday. Here are some highlights from the interview.

On if he knows how much he will pay Dirk Nowitzki:

Cuban: "No. I think we will be fine. Dirk understands how everything works. He is throwing names at us of who he wants to play with. He understands the market for them. That kind of lets us work backwards."

On bringing Tyson Chandler back:

Cuban: "Well, it's a whole different set of dynamics. If we would have kept the band together originally and you sign Chandler's deal at that time, we basically couldn't add anybody else. We would have had to resign everybody. It was the lack of the ability to add any other players that was the problem. A lot of those guys have retired or been hurt. It would have been very difficult for us to have much of a team. Now, we bring Tyson back and we have a bunch of cap room that we can add somebody to."

On how Chandler changes the team:

Cuban: "He is just a great defender. Sam (Dalembert) really got better as the days went on which was great, but he is not quite there with Tyson Chandler and he would be the first to admit that. Tyson is kind of a quarterback defensively for us and I think that adds huge value for us."

On the Jason Kidd situation:

Cuban: "I was surprised, but I don't know any of the details so it's hard for me to say."

To post a comment, log into your chosen social network and then add your comment below. Your comments are subject to our Terms of Service and the privacy policy and terms of service of your social network. If you do not want to comment with a social network, please consider writing a letter to the editor.